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Kansas man will spend two years in prison for gun store break-in

Darnell Tyree-Peppers, 19, will serve two years in prison for arming a gun shop and pawn store in Topeka, Kansas. (Photo: Shawnee County Jail)

A Kansas man will serve two years in federal prison for burglarizing a gun store and pawn shop in Topeka last year.

Darnell Tyree-Peppers, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of firearms from a federally licensed dealer after he and an accomplice, identified as Angel Rodriguez in an unsealed indictment, broke into Integrity Gun and Pawn on July 23, 2017.

Surveillance footage caught Tyree-Peppers and Rodriguez smashing the store’s front window and stealing 11 handguns, including both 9mm and .40-caliber pistols. Three weeks later, a Nevada Highway Patrol officer recovered one of the stolen firearms during a traffic stop, according to the indictment.

In an April plea agreement, Tyree-Peppers admitted guilt in exchange for a lighter sentence. He faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Guns stolen from federally licensed dealers exceeded 8,000 last year, according to a federal report released in January.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recorded 7,841 firearms stolen during 577 burglaries in 2017. An additional 288 guns were taken during 33 FFL robberies.

In all, the number of guns stolen last year increased about 3 percent over 2016. Firearms taken over the last five years have more than doubled, according to the ATF.

The post Kansas man will spend two years in prison for gun store break-in appeared first on Guns.com.